Keeping the Fire Burning
by Yee Mun
Summary: Sokka/Zuko Starts the night of "The Western Air Temple" Sokka goes to try to make peace with Zuko after overhearing Katara's threat. What he doesn't expect is a ritual of midnight meetings, tears, confessions, and passion?


Disclaimer: I don't own A:tLA

Summary: See profile for challenge Sokka/Zuko Starts the night of "The Western Air Temple" Sokka goes to try to make peace with Zuko after overhearing Katara's threat. What he doesn't expect is a ritual of midnight meetings, tears, confessions, and passion?

A/N: I have no idea what I want to happen with this... so this should be entertaining at least.

* * *

**Keeping the Fire Burning**

The Western Air Temple was huge and for that Zuko was glad. Things between himself and the Avatar's group was much too tense. Not that he blamed them. He had been an outright jerk to them, but he still felt that Katara's sarcastic and bitter attacks were a bit over done. At the same time, he had a sinking feeling that he would have acted the same way if the positions were turned around.

Zuko sighed as he turned to look out of the small window of his small room. He had a feeling that the group had stuck him in the room farthest from themselves as a way to keep themselves safe. From what he couldn't fathom. He wouldn't attack them and even if they thought he would have, would they even have taken in him?

Turning to his side, Zuko faced the wall and began to think about his life and where it had led him. He thought about his childhood. It wasn't something he liked to dwell on. His life had been relatively happy then. Sure, he was still a failure to his father and his sister was still a royal bitch, but he had his mother then. He had someone to hide behind and someone to lean on. The day that she disappeared (for he couldn't really think of her as dead) was the day he was harshly thrust into the world without any notice or any support. He had to make his own choices without his mother to guide him.

And when Zuko made his first big choice in his life, it was a mistake. He had stepped out of his place and confronted his father, the man who had never loved him, in front of their people. He had made a grave decision that day.

After being band from his home, having only his Uncle and handful of foolish Fire Nation soldiers at his command, Zuko made the second biggest choice of his life, going after the Avatar. After that, most of what he did was based on that single goal. When he found himself in the Crystal Catacombs of Ba Sing Se, his thoughts began to change, he saw what he wanted. He wanted to change.

It was Azula who changed his mind. That small, childish part of him really just wanted to have a part in his family. He wanted to be a child again. He wanted to finally make his father proud. His need for acceptance had been his downfall.

Now that he was where he knew he needed to be, he didn't know how to feel. Part of him wanted to beg for forgiveness, only to have a place to belong. The other part of him wanted to be stubborn and aggravated that the water witch didn't just accept him. He knew he had messed up a lot, but he he was hoping that he would at least be given a chance to turn over a new leaf. He had even thought that he saw that chance burning over the horizon, but it burned out. No, it was more like the fire of his hope was dowsed out by a certain water bender who seemed hell bent on the fact that he would turn back to his old ways.

Again. Not that Zuko blamed her.

With a sigh, Zuko turned fully on his side, his legs curling in and his arms circling around himself. His angst ridden thoughts were making him feel cold. He missed Uncle. He missed the tea and the ancient proverbs (not that he would ever admit it) a small part of him even missed the Fire Nation, or the Fire Nation that flourished in his dreams.

A knock at his door startled Zuko out of his thoughts. He stood instantly, slipping a robe over his body, ready to fight or flee. When he reached the door and opened it, Zuko was surprised to find a sheepish looking Sokka standing before him.

"Sorry I couldn't," Sokka stuttered while staring at the the ground, his hand rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous twitch. "I couldn't sleep. I was hoping you where awake."

"I am." Zuko stated blanklystartling the water tribe boy into looking up at him.

"What?" Sokka asked confused as if just realizing where he was and to whom he was speaking.

"I'm awake. You were wondering if I was and I am. Is that all?" Zuko's voice was calm and even. Sokka tried to find annoyance hidden within it, but couldn't.

"I just want to, I don't know, talk?" Sokka shrugged while attempting to back out of the situation. He could now see what he had gotten himself into and wasn't sure that he wanted to continue, even if he had come for a reason. Zuko's attitude was annoying and he was just too tired to deal with it. But he had to, he had to get this off his chest.

"We are talking, aren't we?" Zuko asked. Again Sokka search for a deeper meaning, but again found none. Zuko's passive tone as eating at Sokka's nerves slowly, but he was doing his best to subdue his anger.

"I mean-" Sokka stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Zuko stepped aside to allow Sokka entrance. "So you wanted to talk?"

Zuko wasn't one to talk unless he needed to, but he really was tired and wanted to go to bed. He thought it stupid, however, to turn away any seemingly friendly visit from Aang's group, even if it was Sokka. When he thought about confronting the members of Aang's gang he had somehow forgotten about Sokka. They all seemed to have a place, but him. Aang was, well Aang. He was The Avatar. Katara was his water bending teacher and was also the mother of the group. Toph was Aang's earth bending teacher and the person who seemed to knock the sense into the others. Even Appa and Momo seemed to have spots. But Sokka? He had proved that he had some sort of skill when he used his boomerang to win against the monster of a man zuko had once hired to kill them. (Though part of Zuko felt that is was mere luck.) But Sokka, even though Zuko couldn't see his use, was part of the gang and he would just have to do as a start.

"Yeah I," Sokka paused again and then looked up from the spot on the ground at which he had been transfixed with and instead looked into Zuko's eyes. "You have to understand that this is really hard for me to say and I feel weird saying it but-" Sokka trailed off again seeming to be searching for the right words. His eyes wandered out the window to the moon that Zuko had just be staring at. Zuko made no noise or motion to push Sokka to continue.

"If it's alright with you I'd like to go to bed, can we finish this conversation in the morning?" Zuko asked, letting his annoyance slip through. He hadn't meant to, but the tone of his voice seemed to spark something in Sokka because he suddenly began to talk so fast that Zuko was half convinced that most of what was being uttered from his mouth were mere sounds rather than words.

"No you listen here. We didn't have to let you stay with us and we didn't have to trust you, but we did. Aang trusts you and Toph does too. They both see something in you that makes them feel comfortable enough to have you around. And then there's Katara who hates you and is mad at Aang and Toph because of this whole stupid thing that everyone is blaming on your arrival. And I don't even know what to think! I want to believe Aang and Toph. I want to believe that you've changed, that you're on our side. That would be great! We would finally have some sort of path to follow in this war. We would have some more support in this war that we greatly need! And then the other side of me wants to side with Katara. She's my sister, the person who practically raised me when our mother died. Whether it's right or wrong, I feel that I should be on my sister's side, no matter what.

"And then after running these thoughts through my head I began to realize that we're all on one side, but we're separating ourselves again, making an alliance that's supposed to fight _the bad guys_ are really fighting each other while the other side tramples all over us, laughing at their victories.

"And when it comes down to it, I don't really care about sides. I'm sorry that my sister threatened you, yes I overheard that, but then I don't know if I can trust you either. I'm so confused, I have no idea what side to turn to, and I'm so tired just thinking about it that I'm rambling and I don't even think I'm making sense anymore." Sokka finished is rant, red in the face, and averted his eyes once again.

"Are you done?" Zuko asked, again with a passive tone.

"I-" Sokka started, but took a deep breath before continuing. "Yes. I'm done."

And with a quick bow of his head, Sokka made for the door.

"Wait." Zuko reached out a hand to stop Sokka, but let it hover just next to his shoulder, too afraid to touch the unstable water tribe warrior.

"What?" Sokka asked bitterly, understanding that he had just made a complete ass out of himself.

Their eyes met and a feeling of understanding passed through them. Sokka could see the understanding in Zuko's eyes, but he could also see the reluctance and his inability to express his thoughts, something Sokka just proved that he had troubles with himself. The connection lasted barely a moment before Sokka was the first to look away, turning to leave once again. No words were exchanged, but an odd bond was formed between two very different, but very similar young men.

Zuko closed the door to his room after watching Sokka walk into the darkness of the night. With a sigh, Zuko leaned against the closed door, his arm raised to brace his forehead. Although he didn't show it, Sokka's little episode had really moved him. Although many of his sentences were phrased strangely and all of his thoughts didn't completely agree with each other, Zuko was able to get a basic understanding of Sokka's thoughts. He also found it interesting that he had been thinking the same thoughts just minutes before.

Zuko moved to his bed and slowly lowered his tired body to the uncomfortable cot. It would have to do, at least for the night, he was much too tired to make himself more comfortable.

* * *

It had been exactly a week since Zuko had had his odd conversation with Sokka. Zuko had actually just been forgetting about it, assuming that it was his only chance to make any connection with Sokka. He assumed that he had just made another horrible decision in his life. So when Sokka appeared at Zuko's door, exactly a week after the first incident, Zuko was more surprised to see him than he was last time.

"Hi." Sokka said trying to start a conversation again.

"Hi?" Zuko asked more than greeted.

"Can I come in?" Sokka asked again. Again, Zuko stepped aside to let him in. This time Sokka seemed more relaxed and almost tired than the high strung boy whom had visited him last. "Look I'm sorry."

"What?" Zuko asked surprised, turning from closing his door to find himself looking right into Sokka's eyes.

The situation quickly turned awkward and Sokka shuffled back until he was once again sitting on Zuko's bed.

"I said I'm sorry about how I acted last time, I-" Sokka stopped and shifted his weight while sitting. A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Wow, this bed is really uncomfortable."

"Thank you for stating the obvious." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I'm just trying to help!" Sokka jumped up, already angry.

"Well maybe I don't want your help." Zuko spat before realizing what he had just said.

"Fine." Sokka glared and stormed to the door. "That's good because I wasn't going to offer it."

Sokka slammed the door, opening Zuko's inner rage. He wasn't really mad at Sokka. He was mad at himself for not thinking before talking. He hadn't meant to be rude, but he didn't really no how else to act. Sokka's apology had thrown him off. He hadn't known what to say because frankly, Zuko didn't see any reason for Sokka to apologize. He hadn't _really_ done anything wrong. In retrospect, Sokka yelling at Zuko (and really he had been ranting more than yelling and had even said he had sided with Zuko) was no where near as bad as the many things Zuko had done to him.

What had Zuko ever done to hurt Sokka? Personally, at least. Aang was almost always his target. He had gone after Katara once, but it was only to get to Aang. Zuko couldn't even think of a time where he had specifically targeted Sokka. Not that that justified Zuko in any way, but it was certainly food for thought.

Zuko tossed and turned that night with many confused thoughts whizzing through his mind. It was a miracle that he even fell asleep.

* * *

Three days had passed before Sokka came knocking at Zuko's door again. It crossed Zuko's mind that maybe Sokka was putting in much too much effort to build the bridge that, honestly, Zuko benefitted from more. Maybe he should be trying too.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I do want to help you, but I can't if you don't let me." Sokka sighed. Zuko knew that if he was in Sokka's shoes, he wouldn't have been as brave. "I didn't even ask you if you wanted my help. I just assumed that you would want it. I guess because I pitied you without even getting to know you. So I'm sorry." Sokka awkwardly held out his hand which Zuko could only stare at.

"It's okay." Zuko smiled meekly. "I have more to be sorry for." He said few words, as was in his personality, but the few words that he did say seemed to fit. He didn't say that he was sorry, he wasn't ready to say that just yet, not out loud, but he could see in Sokka's eyes that he understood.

Sokka's hand dropped and he smiled a small, sad smile back.

"Well, it's late, I guess I best be off to bed. Good night." Sokka watched Zuko, who seemed to not be able to speak. So Sokka nodded to him, turning around to go.

"Good night." Zuko responded so quietly that Sokka wasn't sure if he had heard him right. He didn't dare turn around, however. He understood that what had just happened was a significant step forward and if he turned to face the exiled prince, he would be taking a step back into the wrong direction.

That night, Zuko feel asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

The meetings between Zuko and Sokka started to become more frequent. It was more often than not that two would sit up all night on Zuko's bed, that Sokka had made more comfortable by giving him one of their sleeping bags, and talk. At first the meetings were awkward, neither was really up to opening up, but Sokka was persistent and it was his persistence that pushed Zuko to give their odd friendship a try.

By the time the two had been meeting for about two months, there seemed to be nothing that the other didn't know about them. Of course there were parts of both of their pasts that they never spoke about. There had never been mention of their mothers, but that seemed too deep for two people still so new to the friendship to open the other. It was on one particular night that those barriers fell.

Zuko hadn't been feeling well all day, he had even missed dinner, worrying everyone, but Katara. When Sokka had asked her to see if she could heal Zuko, she only gave him the cold shoulder. Although everyone seemed to know that Sokka and Zuko were friends (no one knew about their nightly meetings however) Katara was the only one to ignore the union.

Sokka didn't know if he wanted to check up on Zuko. They seemed to be good friends, but Sokka wasn't about to push the limits. In the end, he chose to check on him. If Zuko was really sick, he would want to know.

When Sokka knocked on the door and didn't get an answer he started to worry. He tried the door and found it unlocked. (He mentally smacked himself when he remembered that there was no lock on the door.) The first thing that Sokka noticed was that Zuko was asleep. The moon was shining down from the window onto Zuko's bare skin. The night was warm which left a shirtless Zuko, with his already sheer pajama pants hanging on his hips ready to fall off, lying in front of Sokka.

His mouth went dry.

Lately, Sokka had been having dreams about Zuko. Some were innocent. They were friends hanging out, stress free. The was was over. In others, however, they were being far from being innocent and far from just friends. Sokka shook the thoughts out of his head when he saw Zuko turn over, eyes now open, to face him. By turning around, Zuko was illuminated by the moon's light even more, making the muscles of his toned upper body all the more defined. Sokka shock himself out of his daze by focusing on what Zuko was saying to him.

"You woke me up."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"I'm fine." Zuko looked up into Sokka's eyes. Sokka could see the streaks on the fire bender's face of where tears must have dried. Zuko had cried himself to sleep.

"Can I come in?" Sokka asked, pretending to not notice the tear stains.

"You already are." Zuko turned so he was lying on his back, giving Sokka room to sit next to him. He knew that Sokka could see that he was crying. If this had happened even just a month ago, Zuko wouldn't have let Sokka stay, but, for some reason, the thought of having Sokka near him seemed to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sokka asked, facing away from the boy to help alleviate the embarrassment.

"No." They sat in silence for a long time before either spoke again. "It was a stupid dream."

"It's okay, we all have nightmares." Sokka responded while still facing the wall.

"You can look at me, you know. It makes it easier." Sokka turned to see that Zuko was staring at the ceiling. His eyes were distant, but there were no tears.

"Why does it make it easier?" Sokka asked, surprised. Zuko turned his head so he was looking right into Sokka's eyes. The sight nearly took Sokka's breath away.

"Because if I look at you, I remember that I'm awake and my nightmares are just nightmares."

"Oh." Sokka couldn't look into the golden eyes anymore. They were so sad and he had a feeling that they could see right through him. But he couldn't look away. Zuko seemed the most sincere and most open that Sokka had ever seen him.

"I dreamt of the last time I saw my mother." Zuko sighed and reverted his eyes back up to the ceiling. Sokka waited patiently for him to continue. "My father, he had upset my Grandfather, the Fire Lord at the time. He demanded my father to sacrifice me for his thoughtlessness.

"I didn't know about all of this, of course. I only heard it through Azula. The next thing I knew, my mom was telling me to always remember who I was and that everything she had ever done was to protect me. I never saw her again."

"Is she-" Sokka wanted to asked is she was still alive, but he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"I don't know."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. I've made so many mistakes with my life when my mother put her own life on the line so I could keep mine."

"Zuko don't talk like that. I'm sure-"

"And I'm sure that if she really is dead, she's too ashamed to watch over me. I really messed everything up."

"Not everything." Sokka interjected which forced Zuko to meet his eyes. Tears were brimming from his eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Sokka leaned down to brush the tears away. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Zuko laughed bitterly. He didn't know why he felt so comfortable with Sokka so closed to him. He never much like people coming too close to him, much less touching him. There were only three people he could ever remember that he had allowed to touch him. His mother, Uncle and Mai.

Mai.

Zuko had forgotten about her. Slowly he started to realize that he had never really liked her. She was just another way for him to fit in, another outlet for his anger. She was too much like him, she was too depressed and emotionless, quite the opposite of himself, being a hot head, but in their case, the opposites didn't help their relationship in the slightest.

Zuko was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed just how close Sokka was to his face. The closeness didn't bother him and that in itself bothered him.

Before Sokka could think about what he was doing, he had leaned in all the way, brushing his lips against Zuko's. The kiss was brief, neither really responding, both too shocked that they were kissing the other to have a true reaction.

"Sorry." Sokka cried suddenly, jumping back with fear in his eyes. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

He ran for the door, not looking back until he heard his voice calling to him. He had to strain his ears to hear him, but Zuko had called out to him, of that he was sure.

"Wait."

Sokka turned around again, seeing that Zuko lay there, his arm propping him up so he could call out to Sokka. The moonlight shown on his perfect body. In his hurry to partially sit up, Zuko had managed to allow his pajama pants slip until there was barely anything blocking Sokka's view. It was too much for him. He ran.

* * *

Sokka didn't leave his room the next morning, not even for meals. Zuko was really worried. It was obvious that Katara could sense that it had something to do with him. She was annoying like that. To avoid Katara, Zuko decided to explore the Air Temple, trying to figure out how to confront Sokka.

Sure, he hadn't expected the kiss, but he hadn't _not_ wanted it. Sokka had been nervous, of that Zuko could tell. That was probably why he hadn't given Zuko enough time to put words together to respond. Sokka knew better than anyone that it took time for him to form the words he felt were appropriate and Sokka didn't give him time for that. If he had, maybe Zuko wouldn't be lost, alone in the middle of the runes of the Western Air Temple.

By the time Zuko found his way back to an area of the temple that he actually knew, it was late. He had missed two meals and he could feel that weighing on him. Quickly, Zuko went to find Aang to ask if there was any left over food. He knew that Katara would know best, but he didn't much like the thought of having to ask the insufferable water witch for anything.

When he found Aang, Zuko was able to get some rice and a small slice of meat. Aang had saved it for him and a portion of the same size for Sokka. Zuko offered to take it to him and Aang agreed. Aang might have been naive, but he wasn't blind, he could see the growing attraction between the two boys. Even Toph, who was in fact blind, knew about the two boys. She could feel it in their mannerism. Aang could tell that whatever Sokka had shut himself in about had to do with his fire bending teacher and if he could help them resolve it, he would be glad.

Zuko walked tentatively up to Sokka's door. Even after all the time the two had spent together, Zuko had never been to Sokka's room. He had even needed Aang to led him to the room. After finding a way to juggle the food in one arm, Zuko knocked on the door.

"Go away." Sokka's muffled voice called out from inside the room.

Zuko turned the door nob anyways, allowing himself entrance. When Zuko stepped into the room, he had to squint to get used to the lack of light. Sokka had covered the windows, the only source of light for the room.

"I brought you food."

"Thanks."

"It's strange, how we've changed roles."

"Yeah." Sokka agreed sarcastically. His tone was rather flat, however, he didn't seem to care much.

"Are you really this upset?" Zuko asked as he sat next to Sokka's bed, trying to catch Sokka's glance.

"I took advantage of you."

"Excuse me?" Zuko asked taken aback.

"You were upset, I took advantage of you. I've been wanting to kiss you for so long and I just saw you so sad, I just couldn't resist, but then I realized that when you were that sad, you trusted me and I completely defiled that by kissing you when I knew you wouldn't get mad at me or hurt me."

"What makes you think I would be mad?" Zuko asked truly confused. Sokka wasn't making an sense.

"You're straight."

"I am?"

"You're not?" Sokka asked, shocked. He looked up fast and gave himself whiplash. "Ow!" Sokka cried,

Thinking fast, Zuko moved up closer to Sokka, turning the boy's body so he could work out the knots and sores in his neck. WIthout needing to talk, the two fell into a comfortable silence.

"You weren't taking advantage of me." Zuko spoke after a time. "I wanted to kiss you too."

And without letting Sokka respond or question him, Zuko turned the water tribe warrior's face to his, letting his lips fall onto his. The kiss was soft and tender. It was their way of testing the other, seeing where and how they fit with the other.

When Zuko finally pulled away, a true smile filled his face.

"So-" Sokka began looking for the words to say, but was cut off by Zuko.

"Sokka? Just shut up and kiss me."

And that night they didn't have any conversations (of the spoken kind) and they didn't pour out their feelings and worries through jokes and understanding silence (that's where the kiss and the touching came in handy), but there was no doubt that after that night, the two would make it a point to always meet every night, if only to keep the fire burning.

**The End**

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A/N: I must say I think this pairing just became my OTP! I really had different ideas for this story and then I guess they just changed, (which is why it's out a day late) but I really like how it turned out! So now that you know how I feel, you should click the button right under the text that lets you tell me what you think! Sound good? Good! Thanks for your review in advance! (Hint, hint...) Again I want to thank my boyfriend for helping sort out all the crazy jumbled thoughts in my head and for understanding when fan fiction just must come first! (just kidding) Shaelyn


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